SOMERVILLE, NJ – Standout Immaculata High School football player Tashawn Bower has played himself onto the opening day roster of the Minnesota Vikings after a four-year collegiate career at defensive end for perennial powerhouse LSU.

Bower, Class of 2013, becomes the second graduate of Immaculata to make it to the NFL. Theo Riddick, Class of 2009, is the featured running back for the Detroit Lions.

The two teams, fierce rivals in the rough-and-tumble NFC North Division, face off Oct. 1 in Minnesota.

Looking ahead, the traditional NFL Thanksgiving Day game, broadcast nationwide on Nov. 23, will take on added significance in Somerville, as the Lions will be hosting the Vikings in Detroit, with Bower on defense and Riddick on offense.

Despite a stellar collegiate career, Bower was not drafted by any NFL team, and signed with the Vikings as a free agent.

Bower, who wears the purple-and-gold Viking jersey No. 64, is listed third on the Vikings’ depth chart at right defensive end behind starter Everson Griffen and Stephen Weatherly.

The 6’5’’ 250-pound lineman was heavily recruited by several high-profile national programs in his junior and senior years at Immaculata; he narrowed his choices to Florida and Auburn before selecting LSU.

Bower and Riddick both played for Immaculata Coach Pierce Frauenheim.

The 22-year-old finished his senior season at Immaculata with 95 total tackles, 16 tackles for losses, 11 sacks, seven pass breakups and three forced fumbles. He was rated a four-star recruit by ESPN.com, and ranked as the No. 11 best defensive end in the nation and the No. 4 prospect in New Jersey by ESPN.

ESPN.com’s top 150 listed Bower as the No. 132 prospect in the nation.

Bower was a four-year starter at LSU, playing 40 games, with 7 starts in the 2015 and 2016 seasons; he finished off his senior year in spectacular fashion against the Louisville Cardinals, with 3 sacks against Heisman Trophy quarterback Lamar Jackson.

WARREN, NJ - In a strong statement of solidarity with kids with cancer, 20 local high school students, parents and members of the community as well as 11 Watchung Hills Regional High School teachers and staff shaved their heads at a St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraising event held at the high school in Warren to raise money for childhood cancer ...

NEWTON, N.J. — The 2018 Sussex County St. Patrick’s Parade was held March 17.

The New Jersey Quarter Horse Association brought several different breeds of horses, the Happy Horses 4-H Club marched, The New Jersey State Fair/Sussex County Farm & Horse Show 2016 Queens rode on a wagon and cowboys and cowgirls from Wild West City participated.

PYEYONG CHANG, SOUTH KOREA - Declan Farmer scored the equalizer with just 37.8 seconds to play in the third period and tallied his second goal of the game 3:30 into overtime to lead the 2018 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team over Canada, 2-1, and win an unprecedented third consecutive gold medal at the Paralympic Winter Games.

SOMERVILLE, NJ – A surprise engagement took center stage at last weekend’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Somerville. In the midst of the March 11 festivities, Piscataway resident Steven Verardi boarded a float and popped the question to his girlfriend Elise Latona, marking the first known engagement to take place at the parade in 27 years.

HOLMDEL, NJ - It's the moment before suicide that comes and, often, so tragically goes. The moment of silence, the pause in a conversation. It is a moment when you want to say something but you feel you can't. Or you just don't. Or you won't. Yet, these silent inflection points during any mental health crisis can be a pivot to opportunities. You can seize ...

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, NJ - A 17-year-old high school student was escorted from school yesterday by police who found a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol in his back pack along with narcotics, according to Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson.

Robertson said the initial investigation by law enforcement revealed that there were no known threats to the students or faculty; he commended the ...

After a couple of difficult travel days, the local airports are returning to normal. The FAA is reportin only 10 to 15 minute delays. Allow extra times for the commute to the airport and you should be fine.

Just keep these ideas and links fresh in mind for future travels. You may even want to bookmark the page for future reference.

NEW YORK, NY - The third in a series of nor’easters impacting the Mid-Atlantic and New England will affect the area Monday evening through Tuesday.

The track of the storm has been particularly troublesome to forecast, but the midday model runs today, March 11, have begun to converge on a solution that curves the center of the nor’easter far offshore of New Jersey before ...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL - The 25th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival at the Walt Disney World Resort continues through May 28, 2018. The first festival in was a 38-day celebration, for 2018 it is 90 days of gardens and topiaries. 2018 is also the 35th anniversary of Epcot.

The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival is showcasing millions of ...

WARREN, NJ - AAA is reminding drivers that the change to Daylight Saving Time may create distractions on the roadway and challenges for drivers who lost an hour of sleep. Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday at 2 a.m.

“As we spring forward, drivers should be aware that the time change will also mean changes to driving habits,” said Robert Sinclair, Manager of Media ...

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ - Suspended Hillsborough High School Athletic Director Michael Fanizzi has been arrested and charged with the theft of $10,704 in athletic event receipts over a four-year period from 2013-2017, according to Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson.

Fanizzi, 53, a resident of Conover Way in Hillsborough who had been athletics director for 14 years, had been ...

SOMERVILLE, NJ – A surprise engagement took center stage at last weekend’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Somerville. In the midst of the March 11 festivities, Piscataway resident Steven Verardi boarded a float and popped the question to his girlfriend Elise Latona, marking the first known engagement to take place at the parade in 27 years.